¦The DeWitt Planning Board has recommended rejecting an Aldi discount store, bank and several small shops on across from Wegmans Food Markets in DeWitt.

The planning board was required to make a recommendation to the DeWitt Zoning Board of Appeals, which will decide on the developer’s request for special permits and a variance for the project.

The developer, Art Kanerviko of the Rocklyn Cos., wants to build the Aldi, drive-through bank and several small retail shops on the n East Genesee Street site where the former Lund’s Ski Shop and AOK gas station are located. That site is across from the Wegmans plaza on East Genesee Street.

Residents who live near the proposed project have voiced concerns about traffic, drainage and the buffer between the property and their homes behind the site.

Dewitt planning board members believe the proposed project is too large for the site and are concerned because some of the parking, drainage and stormwater system lie within a residential district, said Dick Robb, DeWitt’s planning commissioner.

The proposed Aldi would be 15,700-square-foot, while the bank would be 2,300 square feet and the shops about 5,000 square feet¶

The ZBA meets again Oct. 19, but Steve Primo, lawyer for Aldi, said more paperwork is necessary for one of the variances, so it may be several weeks before a decision can be made.

Primo said he’s hoping the ZBA will approve the developer’s request for two special permits, two interpretations and a variance for the site despite the planning board’s opposition.

"We’ve done the best we can do on the site," he said, "and I don’t think we’ll be modifying our plans."